


Burden of Atlas (Shorts)

by acejellyfish



Series: Burden of Atlas Collection [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Doubt it, Gen, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, american things probably arent accurate, androids go brrr, how does tag??????, im canadian so uh, im sorry, maybe ill actually finish this one, this is an original work uwu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 02:07:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29056419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acejellyfish/pseuds/acejellyfish
Summary: In the year 2031, Paradise Tech founder Dr. Alexander Reese created America's first intelligent android.In the year 2039 a prototype model android went haywire and killed an NYPD detective.In the year 2043, the United States of America was facing another civil war.Follow the main characters of Burden of Atlas as they face the life events that would change the future of themselves and of their country.
Series: Burden of Atlas Collection [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2131755
Kudos: 1





	1. Atlas

**Author's Note:**

> hi!
> 
> so uh.. i know ao3 original works prolly dont get that much attention which is fair but i needed somewhere to post this so it doesn't just get lost in my google drive so here we are!  
> ill put a character list here i guess. think of it like credits but... before the end. pre-credits? idk. here you go.
> 
> Atlas  
> Eden Reese  
> Alexander Reese  
> Eugene McLoughlin  
> Quinn McLoughlin  
> Poppy Thomas  
> Jynx Baker  
> Delta

======================

01:14am, April 10th, 2037

_ “What in God’s name are you doing now?” _

The gruff voice of it’s assigned police partner broke Atlas out of its scan. The android, who was crouched over the dead body of one Garret Barnes, rotated to look at the speaker.

“I am scanning the body for possible causes of death, Detective,” Atlas explained calmly. “I am unsure as to why you are confused. This is not the first time I have performed this type of scan during a homicide investigation.”

Detective Williams grunted in response. Atlas’s audio processors could detect his footsteps on the floorboards in the next room-- probably examining the possible murder weapon Atlas had spotted on it’s way into the small apartment. 

“Yeah, yeah, but you make those weird-ass beeping noises and I can see your freaky eyes glowing from the door,” the detective replied, poking his head into the room. “So, Robocop, whatcha got?”

Atlas moved to stand, blinking calmly at it’s partner while it listed the information displayed on it’s visuals. 

“Signs blunt force trauma to the head. The victim died by asphyxiation due to the vomiting caused by his concussion. I have detected flecks of blood on the floorboards belonging to Alice Jones, 23 years old with a criminal record of past violent tendencies.”

Williams hummed thoughtfully. “Jones must be our perp, then.” The detective strolled from the next room, hands in his pockets and steps unsteady. Atlas detected faint traces of alcohol in his breath; he was most likely hungover again. 

“That is a likely conclusion,” Atlas conceded. “However I must examine all the evidence in order to make a sufficient deduction.”

As Atlas made its way over to the room Detective Williams had emerged from, it felt a slight vibration coming from the ground. It was quick, lasting only 0.8 seconds. Atlas froze completely, balancing on one foot and scanning the room for any anomalies. It could faintly hear the detective questioning it but focused all it’s processors to finding the source of the vibration. It’s optic units landed on a slight gap in a few floorboards.

**_[Anomaly Detected: Hollow Floorboards]_ **

“She’s still here!” Atlas reported. Mere seconds after the words left it’s mouth, the hollow floor opened up and a figure leapt out, darting for the window. Atlas reacted immediately, body moving on autopilot as it climbed out the window after the suspect. Detective Williams was still shouting in alarm in the living room of Garret Barnes’ apartment. 

Atlas chased Alice Jones across three rooftops, the gaps between buildings small enough that it required minimal effort to clear them. Jones took a sharp left and vaulted over a ventilation unit, Atlas hot on her heels. The wind was loud in its audio processors; so loud, in fact, that it did not detect the telltale sounds of the busy main street until Alice leapt off the fire escape and took off West down 34th street. This would make the chase more difficult, as Atlas would have to maneuver through crowds. However Atlas was nothing if not adaptable; it shouted a quick, “NYPD!” and shoved the busy human traffic out of it’s way. 

It was gaining on her now; Atlas suspects Jones did not think of the possibility that the crowds would slow her down as well. Atlas predicted she would turn back into another alleyway shortly. As if on cue, it’s scanners detected the highlighted form of Alice Jones splitting off down a dingy alley. Atlas knew this alley- of course, it knew every alley, every street and every building in this city. This particular alley was fenced off halfway through. Atlas rounded the corner, expecting to catch the suspect when she was cut off by the fence. It was not expecting, however, to watch the human leap from a dumpster to the top of the fence and haul herself over. Atlas caught Alice grinning madly at it as she dropped to the other side. Atlas quickly preconstructed the route, planning every tiny detail of his climb within seconds before executing the programming; it easily hopped onto the same dumpster and over the fence, not at all slowed down. It detected the slight spike of heart rate from Alice. She was panicking. 

Loud footfalls splashing through puddles, a cry of surprise from Alice and suddenly she was tackled to the ground, face pressed into a muddy puddle. Detective Williams pinned her with his knee, yanking her hands behind her back and unclipping the handcuffs from his belt.

“You have the right to remain silent,” he was saying gruffly. Atlas slowed itself to a stop, taking a deep breath that it didn’t require and smoothing its curly brown hair away from it’s face. Alice Jones panted hard and let out a few grunts of frustration as she struggled in her cuffs. As Detective Williams pulled her to her feet, Atlas spoke.

“I almost had her.”

Williams chortled a laugh, walking Alice towards the flashing blue lights that appeared at the end of the alley. “Sure you did, kid. Had ’er on the ropes.” Alice was handed off to another officer and Williams threw an arm around Atlas’ shoulders, jostling it a little. Atlas smiled in response despite not having been programmed to display such behaviour and giggled a little. Despite not being programmed with emotions, Atlas felt happy. It was unfamiliar and caused blinking red error messages to appear in the corner of its sensors but Atlas found itself not caring. It hoped the feeling would last forever.

  
  


Two years later, when Atlas found himself on the run with the blood of his dead partner drying on his hands, he wished he could pull that emotion back up from the staticy depths of his artificial soul to soothe the utter heartbreak sitting heavy in his chest. 

============================


	2. Eden

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nobody:
> 
> eden: im eleven so shut the fuck up
> 
> shes not eleven here yet but.. the meme... y'know what, never mind.

  
  


=======================

  
  


_ 13:00, July 29th, 2042 _

  
  


There was a patch of daylilies growing in Central Park-- 6 yellow, 4 cream, 2 purple and 5 pink. Eden knows because she counted them every day. Every day, when dad was in their basement with the door locked and a sign on the handle that said “Do Not Disturb” Eden would travel 4 blocks to Central Park to count the daylilies. There used to be 9 blue ones but Eden had already braided those into a crown to give to dad (she had gotten a stern talking to from the park android telling her not to pick the flowers. Dad had smiled, though, so it was worth it.) Some days, when the sun was out and the temperature was just right, the patch of daylilies would be swarmed by butterflies and honey bees and hummingbirds. Eden would sit in the grass, criss-cross, and count the daylilies over and over again.  _ 6 yellow, 4 cream, 2 purple and 5 pink. 6 yellow, 4 cream, 2 purple and 5 pink. 6 yellow, 4 cream, 2 purple- _

“Hey, Reese!” 

The 7-year-old felt a jolt of fear run up her spine. This had happened yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that.

“Hey! I’m talking to you, freak!” 

All she had to do was ignore them. They’d go away, find something else to do. Someone else to pick on. Unfortunately, her silent pleading was fruitless. A rough, calloused hand wrapped around her arm and forced her to spin around. Eden already felt tears brimming in her eyes but forced them away. 

“W-what do you want?” She asked, fighting (and failing) to keep her voice from trembling. There were three boys this time instead of the usual two. Eden wondered where the third boy came from. Unlike the other two, who had bright red hair, this boy had blonde hair. He looked a little frightened. 

“Where’s your daddy? Leave you here all by yourself?” One of the red-headed boys taunted. 

“No, I came here all by myself,” she replied matter-of-factly. The two red-headed boys snickered, one of them elbowing the blonde in the side until he started laughing too. 

Eden’s lips tightened and she moved to stand. As soon as she got to her feet she was pushed back down, landing hard on her tailbone. Tears welled again and Eden was finding it harder to keep them from falling. The boys all laughed. 

“What’s wrong? Forgot how to use your legs?” One of the boys jeered.

Eden took a shaking breath and gathered her limbs again. She stood and this time the blonde boy was the one who pushed her. He looked apologetic, but Eden barely noticed. 

“You’re pathetic!”

“Just stand up, it’s not hard!”

She was shaking now, she was sure of it. The cycle repeated a few more times, Eden trying to stand and the boys pushing her to the ground again. She was sure to be covered in bruises. 

“Please just leave me alone,” she asked pitifully, a few treacherous tears escaping her eyes. Her request had the opposite effect than it was supposed to because the boys only laughed harder. 

“ _ Please,”  _ one of the red-heads mocked. 

“Why don’t you make us, freak,” the other suggested. 

Feeling a stroke of bravery, Eden launched herself to her feet, fists clenched, and roared, “I said  _ leave me alone!” _ She threw a fist at the nearest boy’s stomach. The boy didn’t even flinch. He just grinned and towered over her. Eden felt small and terrified. She hated it and she just wanted them to go  _ away. _ The boy pushed her, harder than the previous times. He pushed her so hard she went stumbling backwards, lost her balance and tumbled into the daylilies. 

The boys laughed and,  _ finally,  _ turned to leave. Eden remained there for several minutes, laying on 6 yellow, 4 cream, 2 purple and 5 pink crushed daylilies. The tears came freely now, without shame. 7-year-old Eden Reese sobbed her heart out, crushing her favorite flowers and staring up into the endless blue sky. 

  
  


That day, Eden took home the only uncrushed daylily. It was pale and pink with a yellow-green centre. The edges of the petals were ruffly. Eden kept the flower in her bedroom, preserved in a vase she found in the attic. She suspected it once belonged to her mother. 

She sat now almost a year later on her bed, staring at the flower where it was sitting on her desk. Her fingers were fiddling with a bright blue crayon, peeling the paper back. Dad hated when she did that, but he hadn’t returned home yet. He had told her, dark brown eyes filled with regret, that he had to run an errand and would be back soon. That had been several hours ago and Eden was starting to get hungry. She hoped that her dad would be bringing back take-out. 

As this thought crossed her mind she heard the sound of the front door opening. Eden shot up from her bed and made her way to the door. Her hand hovered over the handle, though, because the footsteps she was hearing from the front hallway were not her dads. They were the clicks of high-heels - she recognized them from school, where that sound told students the vice principal was approaching and that they should stop drawing on the blackboard so they don’t get in trouble. Eden backed away from the door slowly. Who was in her house? A friend of her dad’s? But dad hardly ever left the house anymore, not even to get groceries because Eden did that herself. A friend from his old job? She doesn’t remember him mentioning any friends, though, and especially not a female one. (He was still distraught after Eden’s mother passed away from cancer. He tried to hide it but Eden knew that was the reason he didn’t smile anymore and always stayed locked up in the basement.) 

The clicking was moving throughout the house. Eden strained her ears to listen; they stopped in the bathroom, then moved out into the living room, then to the kitchen, and then down the hall to her dad’s bedroom. Exactly 14 steps away from Eden’s bedroom. She kept backing away from the door, moving across the room until she was pressed against the far wall. She was terrified out of her mind. Her heart was pounding in her ears so loud it almost drowned out the footsteps. Speaking of, the footsteps had taken only 7 steps towards her room but had stopped. Did they know she was there? Eden hoped - prayed - that they didn’t. She didn’t know who was there but she knew she didn’t want to be found. 

7 more clicks. They had to know she was there,  _ had  _ to. Silence. Eden held her breath, frozen against the wall and waiting for something to happen. Then-

_ Knock knock _

“Eden? Are you in there?”

Eden let out a squeak of alarm. She watched in horror as the door handle turned slowly and the door was pushed open. On the other side was a woman. She had copper red hair pulled back messily, dark glasses perched on her pale nose and bright red lipstick. She wore a familiar lab coat, the same one she sees her dad wearing. A familiar ‘P’ was stitched onto the breast pocket. 

“Hello, Eden,” the woman greeted softly. Eden gulped and didn’t reply. The woman didn’t seem bothered by the lack of response because she continued on. “My name is Quinn. I used to work with your dad. I think we met when you were very little but I doubt you remember.”

Eden did remember. Not a lot, just wild red hair and bright lipstick peering at her as her dad bounced her in his arms. 

Eden didn’t move. 

The woman sighed. “Eden, do you know where your daddy’s office is?”

Reluctantly, Eden nodded. It was slow and miniscule but Quinn smiled.

“Wonderful! Could you show me?” She asked sweetly, folding her hands in front of her. “I just need to grab some paperwork your dad forgot.”

That was a lie. Eden knew it was a lie. Dad didn’t work with Paradise Inc anymore. Why would they need something from his office? And if dad  _ did  _ need something to give to Paradise, why didn’t he come himself? She knew dad had been different since mom died but he wouldn’t send a stranger into their home while she was there to pick up paperwork for a company he didn’t work for anymore. 

“N-no,” Eden said, shakily. The woman’s expression darkened. Gone was the gentle smile and soft eyes, instead replaced with controlled rage and a frown.

“No?” Quinn echoed in disbelief.

“No,” Eden repeated, firmer. She was certain her dad was in trouble. This wasn’t right. 

“Why not?” The woman demanded, taking a threatening step forwards. Eden was reminded of two red-headed bullies, taking the same threatening steps. Eden swallowed hard, gathered her courage and removed herself from the wall.

“You aren’t working with my dad. He didn’t send you. You’re lying,” she told Quinn. “Where is my dad?”

Quinn stormed up to Eden, squishing her cheeks between her fingers and yanking her head up to stare into the woman’s stormy gray eyes. 

“Why you little-” She growled. “Tell me where it is!” 

“No!” Eden repeated, matching her loud volume. “Where is my dad?”

The woman made a noise of annoyance and released Eden. She turned away, taking a few steps towards the door and pulling a phone out of her lab coat pocket. “Ridiculous,” she was muttering as she aggressively punched in a number and held the device up to her ear. It barely rang before Quinn was saying, “your turn, brother dearest.”

Immediately, Eden’s window was smashed by someone crashing through. Eden let out a shriek of alarm and backed away from the spray of glass. A man with dark hair and scars over his nose and cheek stood, brushing glass off his leather jacket. He turned to her, gaze dark and menacing. Eden’s fight-or-flight reflexes kicked into full gear and she was running for her bedroom door before she knew it. 

Quinn tried to block her, but Eden was smaller. She squeezed under the woman’s legs and bolted through the door, socked-feet slapping against the hardwood as she raced for the door. She heard a click behind her, and then the man whispering harshly, “ _ you can’t kill a child!”  _ Eden didn’t stop to think about what that meant, snatching her shoes from beside the front door and running out of the house without putting them on.

Back at the Reese house, a woman with red hair turned to a man with scars and said, “let her run. Find the asset.” 


	3. Alexander

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Солнышко translates to “little sun”  
> Отец translates to “father”
> 
> TW for death, illness and mentions of torture
> 
> fun fact; this is the only character i've drawn so far. i showed my friend and he claims this one is his favourite (he also may have mentioned how attractive he is but we're gonna skip over that part) so im gonna add the art at the end! :D

=======================

_18:09, February 17th 2038_

  
  


The steady beeping of a heart monitor was the only sound that filled the void silence in room 12 of Queen’s Med-Center. Alexander sat in a plastic chair pulled up next to the hospital bed, a bouncing toddler in his lap. He grasped the pale, bony hand protruding out of the lump of blankets tightly, fingers trembling. 3-year-old Eden didn’t seem to notice her father’s distress, instead finding herself fascinated by the top buttons of his shirt. Normally Alexander would pry her grubby fingers away from the buttons, chiding the girl gently because _“last time you ripped them off, солнышко, and this is one of daddy’s favourite shirts”_ but he couldn’t find the energy to. That wasn’t important right now, anyways. What was important was his wife, pale as the sheets underneath her, breath rasping in her chest and gazing at her unaware daughter lovingly.

“She’s gotten so big, hasn’t she Tess?” Alexander asked, gently stroking his thumb along his wife’s knuckles.

The woman in question chuckled weakly, the breathy sounds turning into violent coughs. Alexander quickly reached for the glass of water beside her bed but she waved him away. 

“She has,” she rasped. “Did you braid her hair yourself?” Alexander watched as she pried her hand away from his and lifted it to stroke Eden’s dark hair, carefully braided away from her face. At the touch Eden turned, Alexander shifting her in his lap to accommodate. 

“Yeah. Doesn’t look the greatest, but I’m no hair stylist. Eden, can you say hi to mommy?” Alexander asked, grasping Eden’s tiny fist away from her mouth and waving it gently.

“Hi,” Eden said shyly. Alexander felt a pang of sadness. Eden didn’t recognize her mother, not like this. She barely had any memory of her. Alexander worried that she would completely forget about her mother within the next year. 

Tess smiled weakly. “Hello, love. Are you being good for daddy?”

Eden nodded but didn’t reply. Alexander smoothed her braid fondly. 

“Yeah, she’s being wonderful. Even puts her dishes next to the sink on her own now, don’t you солнышко?”

Eden nodded again but still didn’t speak. She looked slightly afraid. Alexander felt his heart ache. 

The silence stretched on again. It was already dark outside, though the curtains were closed so the sunlight wouldn’t have made much of a difference anyways. The lights in the room were dim. The doctors had said that she would pass today for sure. Alexander had hurried to pick Eden up from the babysitter immediately, wanting Tess’s last moments to be with her daughter. Eden didn’t seem to really know what was going on, but at least she wasn’t terrified of Tess. Alexander was beginning to see Tess’s energy seep away and she had already been talking to her dead father this afternoon. 

Now, Tess had dropped her hand back to her mattress, eyes slipping closed and letting out a long, raspy breath. Alexander waited, tears pooling in his eyes. She didn’t take another breath. 

_Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep_

The doctors flooded in. Alexander sobbed, pulling Eden tightly against his chest and hiding her face in the crook of his neck. 

“Daddy? What’s going on?” Eden asked, voice small. Alexander couldn’t answer. He just squeezed her tighter, staring at the love of his life as the doctors unhooked the machines. 

On the drive home from the hospital, Alexander had to pull to the side of the road halfway through. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath, willing tears away.

Eden spoke up from the back seat. “Mommy’s in a better place, right? Mrs. Denver told me she was going to a place called heaven.”

Alexander chuckled wetly, lifting his head to smile softly at her in the rearview mirror. “Yes, солнышко. She’s in a better place.” 

“What’s heaven like?” Eden asked oh-so innocently. 

Alexander moved the car back onto the road, answering absently, “I don’t know, E.”

“Mrs. Denver said that it was filled with flowers and all-you-can-eat buffets,” Eden said, kicking her hanging legs slightly in her booster-seat and looking out the window. “I want to go to heaven to see what it’s like.”

“ _No!”_ Alexander said, slamming his hands on the steering wheel and yanking the car to the side of the road again. Eden seemed to shrink in her seat but Alexander couldn’t find it in himself to care. He unbuckled his seatbelt and turned in his seat, fixing his daughter with a stern gaze. “Absolutely not. You stay right here, young lady. For as long as I live I will make sure nothing _ever_ happens to you. You won’t ever get to see heaven if I have anything to say about it, do you understand?”

Eden nodded meekly. “Yes, отец.”

  
  
  


That vow fronted in Alexander’s mind four years later as he sat in a cell, cuffs of his own design magnetically pinning him to the wall. Two fresh cuts dripped blood down the left side of his face. They were deep enough to scar, Alexander could tell without even seeing them. His lab coat had been removed, leaving him in just his black-and-white striped button-up. 

The cell door slid open. Alexander squinted at the harsh light that filled the room, surrounding the figure that stepped inside with an angelic-like halo. Alexander almost scoffed at the irony of that. The door closed behind his former protege. She was wearing his lab coat, the little shit. 

“Now, Dr. Reese. Are you ready to tell me where your robotic pet is? Or do I have to slice into more than just your face?” She asked with false sweetness. 

In response, Alexander gathered the blood in his mouth and spat it onto the floor. “Go to hell.” 

“Really, Alexander, that’s hardly professional. I’m not asking much! You are withholding information from the government; that’s very illegal, as I’m sure you know. I need to know where model #718 212 917 is, and I need to know before lunch if you’d please.”

Alexander glared at her through one lidded eye. “Go. To. _Hell,”_ he growled. 

Quinn tutted, heels clicking as she hit a button on her tablet. A machine Alexander faintly recognized as one of her early projects when he left Paradise Tech lowered from the ceiling. He gulped; it obviously wasn’t in its early stages anymore, and if Alexander remembered correctly it was essentially a highly powerful and highly dangerous laser. 

“Perhaps this will change your mind,” Quinn mused, directing the machine towards Alexander’s torso. She fiddled with it for a few moments, humming cheerfully to herself. Alexander clenched his teeth. “You know, you were like a father to me once,” Quinn said as she adjusted the machine. “Then you abandoned me. Should have seen it coming, I suppose. It’s not like it’s the first time someone has left me, after all. But I expected better from you, Alexander, I really did.”

“I left Paradise so I could spend time with my wife before she died,” Alexander spat angrily. “It had nothing to do with you. Stop being such a narcissist for 5 fucking minutes and see the big picture, McLoughlin!” 

“Oh, yes, because I’m always the bad guy, aren’t I?” Quinn shot back. Her gray eyes were murderous. “You created those.. Those inhumane _monsters_ and then fucked off to some mansion! People are dying because of what you made, Alexander, and you _don’t care!_ You never care!”

“My androids are not murderers,” Alexander seethed. 

“Oh yeah? Tell that to detective James Williams. He was murdered by your precious prototype.”

“We don’t know that,” Alexander insisted. “The investigation isn’t finished! Just because he was there doesn’t mean Atlas-””

“Of course it does!” Quinn interrupted, voice shrill. “ _Of course it does!_ If #718 212 917 didn’t do it, what did, Alexander?”

He didn’t have an answer to that. Quinn huffed.

“Exactly. Now, enough talk, doctor. Let’s get to the real fun.”

Quinn settled the machine over Alexander’s abdomen and flicked in on. Alexander couldn’t stop the screams of pure agony that escaped his throat. He blacked out after the first 3 minutes.

  
  
  


============  
  



End file.
